Our event on 18 March aimed to hear more about what community leaders were hearing from communities, sense check what feels most important to local people and to discuss how NHS services can respond as we move towards a neighbourhood health model.
We also looked closely at four key areas of work by clinical leaders in South West London considering long term plans for health services, responding to the national 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS.
- Prevention and early intervention
- The same standard of care wherever you live
- Improving outpatient care
- Avoiding unnecessary hospital stays.
The session built on previous conversations with communities including a listening event with voluntary and community sector organisations in January 2025, when we came together as part of the national engagement on the 10 Year Health Plan which can be read here.
After a short presentation and case studies exploring how neighbourhood care works in practice, the main focus of the session was a discussion about what community leaders are hearing from their communities and how we can work better together as the NHS shifts towards prevention, neighbourhood working and community-based care.
Our ICB Place leads then facilitated borough-based discussions on how best to strengthen neighbourhood working, asking:
- What would make the biggest difference to the health of the communities you support?
- Opportunities to work differently – Ideas about neighbourhood working, prevention, or changes to services.